


Let It All Out

by supremegreendragon



Category: The Flash (Comics), The Flash (TV 2014), The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: Arguing, Frustrated Barry, Guns, Hugging, Love Confessions, M/M, Mild Language, Rogue's Code, Very minor appearance of Cisco and Caitlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:27:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22049353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supremegreendragon/pseuds/supremegreendragon
Summary: For the 12 Days of ColdflashDay 7 - Airing of GrievancesJust when Barry thought Len might be coming around to being good, he takes a major step back. Barry then demands an explanation.
Relationships: Barry Allen/Leonard Snart
Kudos: 69





	Let It All Out

Barry zipped through the streets with incredible speed, keeping a sharp eye out for any trouble. He heard Cisco’s voice coming through the earpiece of his suit.

“Barry, we’ve got some info that Captain Cold is stealing from a government truck.”

“What? Are they transporting gold bars or something?” Barry asked. It had to be something valuable to catch Len’s attention.

“Worse. Weapons of mass destruction. I’m talking the deadly shit. Bombs, revolvers, you name it.”

Barry’s heart turned to ice, “Why would he want that? I thought he adopted a moral code.”

“Maybe that was a lie?” it was Caitlin’s voice talking this time, “That or he changed his mind.”

“Barry, if he gets his hands on them, he could literally take over the city.”

Barry didn’t like what he was hearing. Not one bit. He thought—hoped—that Leonard Snart was different from Weather Wizard or the Mist. That although Snart stole for a living, there was good somewhere deep in that cold heart of his.

Or maybe that had just been wishful thinking on Barry’s part.

“Where is he now?”

“On the corner of Flood and South Glade street.”

“Roger,” with that, Barry sped on with all the power of a turbo rocket. The people surrounding him appeared so slow that they were still. In a blink of an eye, Barry arrived at his destination.

A truck, tipped over on its side, had its trunk wide open, revealing the goods inside. There was a tower of ice in front of it. Barry puzzled out what happened. Snart had formed the giant icicle, deliberately to make the driver crash.

Snart was inside with a large bag. He had been helping himself to the weapons before Barry arrived. He immediately noticed the hero’s presence. Snart stopped what he was doing and readied his freeze gun.

“Drop the weapons,” Barry ordered. He crossed his arms as an attempt to be intimidating.

Snart casually walked out of the car with his gun in hand. The two were at a standoff, waiting for the other to make the first move. Barry braced himself for the blast of freezing temperatures.

Snart tsked, “I’m only gonna say this once. Get out of here.”

“Or what?”

“Or I tell people your secret.”

Barry went cold, “We had a deal.”

“Stay. Away. Let me take these things just one time. You can stop me from anything else. But not this.”

Barry couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He wanted to scream. To yell and punch Snart until he made sense. Snart had disappointed him by doing this. He had proven that he really was no better than a thoughtless killer.

He ran straight toward the crook. His intent was to disarm Snart, then take him directly to Iron Heights, but not before getting Len to promise he wouldn’t tell people his secret identity. However, Len was prepared. He shot a wall of ice to block himself from Barry.

Barry frowned. He talked over the forcefield of ice.

“I thought you were better than this, Snart.”

“It’s nothing personal, Bar,” Len said. Barry would’ve liked the nickname if Len wasn’t trying to steal deadly weapons, “But this is my town. And I need people to understand that once and for all.”

“Why? Why are you doing this? Are you really going to use those weapons? I thought you didn’t kill anymore.”

“If I’m not gonna use them, someone will.”

The confession sent Barry over the edge. He refused to let Len do this. He refused to let him resort to killing. The Rogues were supposed to have a code, Len himself said that. It was what separated them from the irredeemable villains that Barry had to face, like Reverse Flash. At first, it had been Barry who insisted that Cold not kill. However, as time passed, Len had seemed to make that part of the deal his own personal identity. For a while, it had seemed that he actually _wanted_ to be redeemable.

Barry threw a tornado of fists against the ice, chipping away little by little. Len knew his time was short. He went back to collecting his loot.

Barry refused to let the conversation drop. He spoke without a hint of being out of breath, all the while still punching away, “After all this time, I thought you were different. I thought you were better than the others.”

Len paused. For a moment, he looked remorseful. But the expression soon left his face, as his lips tightened.

“I am different.”

“Then why are you doing this?” almost there. The final bit of ice broke through. Len’s barrier was demolished.

“Because I got to protect you.”

Barry was right in front of him now. He grabbed Len’s hand to stop him from gathering any more items.

Barry did a doubletake, “What?”

Len looked straight at him. Even underneath those shades, Barry could see the seriousness in his eyes. The tension filled inside the back of the government-owned truck.

“This whole year I’ve seen you get attacked by poison, mind control, soundwaves and even lightning. You have so many enemies. Some of them got close to killing you.”

It was true that Barry had quite a number of close calls. But he had no idea that they had worried Len of all people.

He could tell that Len wasn’t lying either. The sincerity in his voice was unlike anything Barry had ever heard coming out of his mouth. Barry could hear his heart pounding in his ears.

“So, I’m going to make my own group of thugs. Going to get them to help in case that happens again. We’ll need the big guns if we want to fight all those metahumans,” Len explained.

“You…care about me?” Barry’s mouth was dry.

Len smiled as if the answer to that should’ve been obvious, “Of course I do, Scarlet. You’re annoying when you stop me from stealing, but you’re mine. I want the assholes trying to kill you to know that.”

Barry didn’t know whether to kiss him or punch him. Instead of doing either, he went in for a hug. Shocked, Len wrapped his arms around him almost instinctively, dropping the bag in the process. Barry kicked it away from Len’s reach. However, Len didn’t seem to notice, as Barry’s hug had all of his attention.

“You mean the world to me, Barry.”

Barry never thought he’d live to hear those words. He felt himself sinking deeper into the embrace, all his defenses evaporating in a flash.

“I love you, Len.”

Pause. Had Barry said too much? His heart stopped as Len pulled away to look at him.

Len said, “I love you too.”

Barry choked back a squeal of joy. He had been silently longing for this from afar, never mentioning it to anyone, not even his closest friends. The unwritten law was practically forbidden. The hero should never fall for the thief.

Len’s hands found their way to the back of Barry’s head. Gloved fingers curled themselves into Barry’s hair. As Len whispered in his ear, Barry could smell the mint wafting from his breath.

“That’s why I have to form an army. It’s the only way I know how to make you safe.”

Barry forced himself back to reality, “If you go down this route, I’ll have to stop you,” he explained. He looked Len in the eye, “But there might be another way.”

“I’m listening,” Len said. He didn’t seem interested in fighting anymore. Relieved, Barry continued.

“Join my team. We could really use your help. You fight like a pro, you’re smart and you know your way around the criminal organization. If you’d work with us, instead of trying to do everything yourself, we can beat them.”

His words seemed to stir something inside Len. Barry realized his head was getting closer---no. He was leaning toward Len. They were meeting for a kiss.

When their lips touched, Barry shuddered in bliss. It was a soft, sweet kiss. And Barry knew that there would surely be more to come. He couldn’t wait.

“Alright. I’ll join you,” Len said. It was like Barry got a late Christmas gift. The new year would be so lovely, he decided.


End file.
